1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic card reading apparatus for receiving a card in which integrated circuits are incorporated to have electronic functions and, more particularly, to such apparatus capable of accepting different sized electronic cards.
2. Description of Earlier Developments
With the development of the integrated chip technique in recent years, integrated circuits on a great scale in a small chip have come to be realized and a variety of electronic cards of credit card size and shape have been devised for a wide variety of applications. Thus, so-called "smart cards" have come to be well-known in the industry with embedded computer chips connected to metallic contact pads on a major surface. These smart cards are insertable into card readers which make electrical contact with the pads of the card through contacts mounted in the card reader housing. Some card readers are provided with end of position switches to detect that a card has been inserted and is located in a read position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,587 discloses a card reader offering such a possibility and further provides a hinged cover for minimizing the entry of dust and debris in the connection region.
A similar but separate line of innovation has resulted in a so-called "SIM-card" which is of a size much smaller than a smart card. SIM is an acronym for "subscriber identity module" and a SIM-card also has embedded computer chips connected to metallic contact pads on a major surface. In this instance, though, the SIM-card is insertable into an item of electronic equipment such as a telephone and provides vital information about its owner. This item of electronic equipment is provided with a SIM-card reader capable of reading the information provided on the embedded microchip. In some instances, for example, the information presented on the SIM-card is necessary to enable the item of electronic equipment to be used by the owner or other authorized persons. A patent disclosing a known construction of SIM-card reader is U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,805 to Reichardt et al. which includes a hinged receptacle or cover movable between an initial position and a card reading position.
It was with knowledge of the foregoing that the present invention has been conceived and is now reduced to practice.